Calculating machine



Jan. 2, 1945. R s ssoN 2,366,282

CALCULATING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 2, 1945. R. s. NILSSON 2,365,232

CALCULATING MACHINE Filed March 17, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.6. 1g

11JL 5; 4 1a 5 1s 5 mum/70R IQOBERT 5. MLsso/v Patented Jan. 2, 1945 CALCULATING MACHINE Robert Severin Nilsson, London, England Application March 17, 1943, Serial No. 479,520 In Great Britain July 7, 1941 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a culculating machine of the kind in which there are provided a plurality of coaxial setting-up wheels each furnished with elements having teeth which normally are retracted and are adapted to be exmanner is imparted in order to bring therninto position to efiect the operation of the counter discs.

According to the invention the setting-up wheels are furnished with rigid elements each toothed at one ,end, the end opposite to the toothed end being arranged to co-operate directly with bars operated upon by the key ele ments.

Further features of the invention are pointed out in the claims.

The invention will be described further in detail and by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional View of a machine according to the invention, more or less .diagrammatic, and showing sufiicient parts to explain the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan View of the keys and the bars operated thereby;

Figure 3 is a view looking from the right of Figure 2;

Figures 4, 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are fragmentary views illustrating certain details in connection with the key arrangement;

Figure 5 is -a side elevation of one of the setting-up wheels;

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line VIVI of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an elevation similar to Figure 5, but with the front plate removed to expose the rigid toothed elements. 1

Referring first to the general construction and arrangement seen in Figure 1, a pair of horizontal guides 2 are fixedly mounted across the machine on which can slide the carriage 3 containing a, plurality of side-by-side setting-up wheels, the construction of which is more clearly seen in Figures 5, 6 and 7. In Figure 1 the end one of this series of setting-up wheels will be identified by the reference numeral it! applied to one of its side plates. The carriage 3 with its setting-up wheels is advanced step-by-step across the machine from right to left, upon operation of keys 24 by escapement mechanism (not shown) as known in this kind of machine, and when the carriage 3 is in the extreme righthand position, the extreme left-hand setting-up wheel may be operated upon by the keys as explained later, and so on, each setting-up wheel in turn being operated as the carriage advances step-by-step.

The setting-up wheels are strung on a pair of rods 4 by which the several wheels are prevented from relative rotation, but by which, also, the whole assembly of wheels may be rotated together when the machine is operated in any known or suitable manner.

The setting-up wheels, by their teeth (which are selectively set up through the key mechanism as hereinafter described), actuate the counter mechanism indicated in Figure 1 by a series of toothed wheels, the end one of which is shown, and by a corresponding series of numeral discs 92 having pinions 9|. Suitable mechanism is employed to carry the tens from one numeral disc to the next succeeding one, this forming no part of the present invention, but such a mechanism is generally illustrated by the arm 93 which is one of a plurality furnished at their respective inner extremities with cam surfaces 94, the arms being individually constrained by springs 95 to assume one of two definite positions. The cam surface 94 co-operates with one of the elements 96 which slide in slots in a pair of discs 99 keyed on the shaft I09. In brief, the sliding action of the particular element 96 is originated by a pin ifll on a numeral disc 92 engaging a further cam surface [02 on an arm 93, moving the latter into the path of a projection I03 of the element 96, and this slides the element into a position where the projection I03 will engage between the teeth of one of the tooth wheels 90 so that it is moved a step and turns the pinion 9| of the next adjacent numeral disc 92.

The parts indicated by the reference numerals Ill, H2, H3, H5, H1 and I24 diagrammatically represent elements of a mechanism with which the present invention is not concerned, associated with means for actuating a revolution counter device for quotients in the solution of problems involving multiplication or division respectively.

indicating multipliers or Referring now to the essential features of the invention, and firstly to the construction of the setting-up wheels, each of these comprises a pair of side plates Ill between which are mounted four rigid elements II, Ila, IIb, and H0, having teeth at one end (uppermost in Figure 7), and these elements are slidable and appropriately guided between the side plates. The toothed elements II-Ilc are normally held in their retracted position by means of a spring I3 bearing on abutments I4 provided adjacent to what are normally their lower extremities.

The number of teeth provided by these elements difiers. element II has one tooth, the element Ila three teeth, the element Ilb three teeth and the element I Ic two teeth, so that each actuating wheel may be caused to present any number of teeth from O to 9 to the toothed wheels in the counting mechanism for as will be appreciated if the element II alone is extended only one such tooth will be presented, whereas if the element Ilc is actuated alone, two teeth will be presented, while if either of the elements Ila or Ilb is actuated, three teeth will be presented and by the combined actuation of II and Ila. four teeth, Ila and Ho five teeth, lid and llb six teeth, II, Ila and Nb seven teeth, Ila, Ilb, IIc eight teeth and II, Ila, IIb, No nine teeth.

Each of the elements II, Ila, Ho, He is provided with a lateral extension I5 furnished with a cam surface cooperating with correspondingly formed cam surfaces IE on a sector rotatably mounted upon the spindle I! and furnished with a limb I8 co-operating with a spring l9 whereby it is constrained to assume the position shown in Figure 5. On the sector there is also provided an extension 20.

When the elements II-I Ic are advanced, the sector is, under the action of the spring I9, caused to be rotated to engage below the lateral extensions I5 on such of the elements as have been moved into a position to present their toothed ends to the toothed wheels 90 of the' counting mechanism, and thus retain the teeth in the projected position until, by the return move-- ment of the carriage 3 when zeroising the extension is brought against a cam 2I which operates to displace the sector, thus permitting the toothed elements II-I Ic to be retracted by the spring IS. The sector, after passing the cam, resumes the position shown in Figure 5 and thus secures the toothed elements I l-I la in their retracted position.

The said toothed elements are caused to be projected by the actuation of one or more of fOur bars 22 mounted on pivots 23. The arrangement of these bars will be seen most clearly from Figures l, 2, 3 and 4-411.

For actuating the bars, keys 24. inscribed with the numbers 1 to 9 are provided. The keys are associated with springs 25 and are arranged in three banks in the construction illustrated, and they are furnished on their sides with projections 26 of different form so that as may be seen from Figures 3 and 4 to 4d the requisite bar or plurality of the bars 22 selected by the key may be aotu ated to cause the number of teeth corresponding with the number inscribed on the particular key depressed, to be extended.

The bars 22, pivoted at 23, and selectively operated as explained according to the particular ke selected for depression, directly work on the rigid elements II-IIc of thesetting' up wheels. It

Thus, it will be seen that thewill be observed that said key-operated bars are formed at their inward ends with upturned extremities which respectively press directly on the ends of the rigid toothed elements I I-I Ic at the lower ends of the latter. Thus, upward movement of an inward end of a bar 22 pushes one of the rigid elements I I--l Ic against the action of its spring I3, and causes the toothed end of the rigid element to move into a position where it can operate the toothed wheel of the counter mechanism There it is retained and eventually released as aforesaid by the mechanism including mainly the sector on the spindle II having its cam surfaces IS coacting with the cammed extensions I claim:

1. A calculating machine including a series of toothed wheels for actuatinga counter mechanism and numeral discs, and means for actuating said counter mechanism and discs through said wheels, said means comprising' an escapement controlled carriage, spaced longitudinally disposed bars rotatably mounted on said carriage, and a plurality of setting-up wheels supported on said bars in side-by-side non-rotatable relation,

said wheels each including a pair of side plates, rigid toothed elements slidably guided between said plates, said elements each having a different number of teeth for selective projection beyond the periphery of the setting-up wheels into operative relation to said toothed wheels, spring means for normally retracting said toothed elements within the circumferential limits of the settingup wheels, holding means for temporarily maintaining said toothed elements in projected position,'means for releasing said holding means, and key levers for engaging the end of said rigid toothed elements opposite the teeth thereon for slidably shifting the same to project the teeth beyond the circumference of the setting-up wheel.

2. A calculating machine, according to claim 1, wherein the holding means for temporarily maintaining the toothed elements in projected position, includes, a lateral extension on each toothed element provided with a cam surface cooperating with cam surfaces on a sector mounted on a side plate, whereby the shifting of a selected toothed element by a key lever moves the sector so that it can engage below said lateral extension to retain the toothed element in its projected position.

3. A calculating machine, according to claim 1, wherein the holding means for temporarily maintaining the toothed elements in projected position, includes, a lateral extension on each toothed element provided with a cam surface cooperating with cam surfaces on a sector mounted on a side plate, said sector being oscillatably mounted on one of the side plates and spring-biased to holding position, said sector being also provided with an extension adapted to be engaged by a cam upon return movement of the carriage during zeroizing to disengage the said lateral extension from its cooperating cam surface on the sector.

4. A calculating machine, according to claim 1. wherein the holding means consists of a sector pivotally mounted on a spindle arranged co-axially with the side plates and is provided with cam surfaces adapted for engagement with lateral extensions on a toothed element, said sector being spring-biased to holding position, and an extension on the sector adapted to engage a resetting cam element upon return movement of the carriage during zeroizing.

ROBERT S. NILSSON. 

